Astrophysical Constraints on the Symmetry Energy and the Neutron Skin of 208Pb with Minimal Modeling Assumptions
Abstract
The symmetry energy and its density dependence are crucial inputs for many nuclear physics and astrophysics applications, as they determine properties ranging from the neutron-skin thickness of nuclei to the crust thickness and the radius of neutron stars. Recently, PREX-II reported a value of 0.283 ± 0.071 fm for the neutron-skin thickness of 208Pb, implying a slope parameter L = 106 ± 37 MeV, larger than most ranges obtained from microscopic calculations and other nuclear experiments. We use a nonparametric equation of state representation based on Gaussian processes to constrain the symmetry energy S0, L, and $$R^{^{208}Pb}_{skin}$$ directly from observations of neutron stars with minimal modeling assumptions. The resulting astrophysical constraints from heavy pulsar masses, LIGO/Virgo, and NICER clearly favor smaller values of the neutron skin and L, as well as negative symmetry incompressibilities. Finally, combining astrophysical data with PREX-II and chiral effective field theory constraints yields S0 = $$33.0^{+2.0}_{-1.8}$$ MeV , L = $$53^{+14}_{-15}$$ MeV, and $$R^{^{208}Pb}_{skin} = 0.17^{+0.04}_{-0.04}$$ fm.
- Authors:
-
[1];
[2];
[3];
[4]
- Perimeter Inst. for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, ON (Canada); Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States)
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- California State Univ. (CalState), Fullerton, CA (United States)
- Technische Univ. Darmstadt (Germany); GSI-Helmholtzzentrum fur Schwerionenforschung, Darmstadt (Germany); Max Planck Inst. fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Nuclear Physics (NP); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR); National Science Foundation (NSF); German Research Foundation (DFG); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1832376
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-21-20527
Journal ID: ISSN 0031-9007; TRN: US2216732
- Grant/Contract Number:
- 89233218CNA000001; AC02-05CH11231; AC52-06NA25396; 20190617PRD1; 20190021DR; PHY-1836734; OISE-1927130; PHY-0757058; PHY-0823459
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Physical Review Letters
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 127; Journal Issue: 19; Journal ID: ISSN 0031-9007
- Publisher:
- American Physical Society (APS)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS; atomic, nuclear and particle physics; gravitational waves; nuclear matter; nuclear matter in neutron stars; x ray astronomy
Citation Formats
Essick, Reed, Tews, Ingo, Landry, Philippe, and Schwenk, Achim. Astrophysical Constraints on the Symmetry Energy and the Neutron Skin of 208Pb with Minimal Modeling Assumptions. United States: N. p., 2021.
Web. doi:10.1103/physrevlett.127.192701.
Essick, Reed, Tews, Ingo, Landry, Philippe, & Schwenk, Achim. Astrophysical Constraints on the Symmetry Energy and the Neutron Skin of 208Pb with Minimal Modeling Assumptions. United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.127.192701
Essick, Reed, Tews, Ingo, Landry, Philippe, and Schwenk, Achim. Tue .
"Astrophysical Constraints on the Symmetry Energy and the Neutron Skin of 208Pb with Minimal Modeling Assumptions". United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.127.192701. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1832376.
@article{osti_1832376,
title = {Astrophysical Constraints on the Symmetry Energy and the Neutron Skin of 208Pb with Minimal Modeling Assumptions},
author = {Essick, Reed and Tews, Ingo and Landry, Philippe and Schwenk, Achim},
abstractNote = {The symmetry energy and its density dependence are crucial inputs for many nuclear physics and astrophysics applications, as they determine properties ranging from the neutron-skin thickness of nuclei to the crust thickness and the radius of neutron stars. Recently, PREX-II reported a value of 0.283 ± 0.071 fm for the neutron-skin thickness of 208Pb, implying a slope parameter L = 106 ± 37 MeV, larger than most ranges obtained from microscopic calculations and other nuclear experiments. We use a nonparametric equation of state representation based on Gaussian processes to constrain the symmetry energy S0, L, and $R^{^{208}Pb}_{skin}$ directly from observations of neutron stars with minimal modeling assumptions. The resulting astrophysical constraints from heavy pulsar masses, LIGO/Virgo, and NICER clearly favor smaller values of the neutron skin and L, as well as negative symmetry incompressibilities. Finally, combining astrophysical data with PREX-II and chiral effective field theory constraints yields S0 = $33.0^{+2.0}_{-1.8}$ MeV , L = $53^{+14}_{-15}$ MeV, and $R^{^{208}Pb}_{skin} = 0.17^{+0.04}_{-0.04}$ fm.},
doi = {10.1103/physrevlett.127.192701},
journal = {Physical Review Letters},
number = 19,
volume = 127,
place = {United States},
year = {2021},
month = {11}
}
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